Abdu'l-Baha

[David Draime]

Here's a charcoal drawing I did about eight months ago. It's of 'Abdu'l-Baha, drawn from a photo that was taken in a Paris studio in 1911, I believe. It's a marvelous photo and it turned out to be the first decent drawing I'd done in years.

I did a couple of this type of drawings in the months leading up to this one. I worked out a lot of problems in those "false starts" - a valuable experience. This one I'm quite happy with. There are a few things I could modify a bit, but nothing huge. Anyway, it's in a gallery near here, beautifully framed, waiting for its future (generous) owner to take it home.

[Chris Saper]

Well, David,

The first thought that comes to mind is "Yes!" Beautifully done! How large is it?

Could you comment on how you came across the photo?

[Elizabeth Schott]

Very nice David! Is he from the Baha'i faith?

[David Draime]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth Schott

Very nice David! Is he from the Baha'i faith?

Thanks Chris and Elizabeth. Yes, he is the son and successor of Baha'u'llah, prophet-founder of the Baha'i Faith, of which I've been a member for most of my adult life. Among Baha'is, it's a very well known photograph, taken during his travels to Europe and North America. There were many photographs taken of him, especially later in life, but this one has always been my favorite. It was pure joy for me working on this one.

As I recall, the drawing is approx. 18X24."

[Kimberly Dow]

That is a beautiful piece!

[Patricia Joyce]

Beautifully rendered. I wish I could study it in person!

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Another great piece. Would appreciate a close up (if possible) as this looks very detailed and the work around the forehead area looks incredible. I was going to start something in graphite, but because of this and the jolanda pieces, will instead do in charcoal. If I fail again, I will blame you for my misery. Just kidding, I will put only partial blame on you!

[Mary Sparrow]

This is truly beautiful!

[Mike Dodson]

David,

This is an exceptional drawing. Are the lights in this drawing charcoal also?

[David Draime]

Thanks everyone for your kind feedback. It really makes a difference and is very encouraging.

Jimmie, here's a detail. You know, I'm sure you'll have success with this medium. You have the eye and that's the essential thing. I don't think it's all that different from working with graphite, except for maybe the toned paper/white highlight thing ( some of your graphite drawings use white highlights, don't they?). The texture of the paper you choose is important. And I use a hard charcoal pencil (HB) for control. A softer charcoal I find harder to control the lighter tones especially. And I don't ever smudge the charcoal. I'm not philosophically against smudging, I've known some great smudgers in my time (I was even once a smudger, I freely admit it) - it's one way of doing it - it's just not useful for what I'm currently after. The only reason I opt for charcoal instead of graphite is I love the deep rich matte blacks that you can get. And when you succeed wildly with this way of working, I expect at least part of the "blame!"

Originally Posted by Mike Dodson

Are the lights in this drawing charcoal also?

That's a great question, Mike. I don't know what it is! It comes with these little charcoal sets (2 or 3 charcoal pencils and the white one) and it says "charcoal white" but I always thought charcoal had to be made of something burnt (?) (Someone help me if I'm way off on this.) It's a little like a white colored pencil, but it's not waxy like colored pencils. Is it white conte? Precisely what it's made of, I don't have a clue. I guess I need to do some research. Pardon my ignorance.

Working the whites on this one was the trickiest part. I'm not used to using so much white, I thought I was really overdoing it. If I was to do it again, I'd try to see if I could get away with less white.